Life sciences sector among core industrial clusters
BANDAR SUNWAY: Selangor, touted as the Golden State of Malaysia and the most developed one is now a step closer to becoming a “smart state” as it concludes its Industrial Master Plan Study. The study commissioned by Invest Selangor and conducted by Monash University Malaysia over a period of 14 months focused on five potential core industrial clusters in Selangor; life sciences; food and beverages; electrical and electronics, transport equipment; and machinery and equipment.
The study will serve as a guide for the Selangor State Government to formulate its future action plan to advance the state’s economy to the next level.
Datuk Teng Chang Khim, Investment, Small & Medium Industries, Trade and Transport Exco for the state who launched the Master Plan said, “Selangor is the most progressive state in Malaysia, contributing 22.6% of the national gross domestic product and with the most diversified economic sectors.” [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]
“The state is currently ranked second in Malaysia with total approved investments of RM7.88bil in 2016 for the manufacturing sector alone, he said. He added, some of the initiatives to further develop the state are developing Selangor Bio-Bay at Pulau
Indah, strategically forming the 3S (Serendah, Subang, and Sepang) Aerospace Belt for Selangor, enhancing the creative and digital start-up scene via the Selangor Digital Creative Centre (SDCC), and creating a trade platform which is the Selangor International Expo.
The other key partners present at the launch were Invest Selangor Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Datuk Hasan Azhari Idris, and Monash University Malaysia Vice President (Strategy) and Interim Vice President (Academic), Prof Mahendhiran Nair.
The launch was attended by over 200 people consisting of High Commissioners/ Ambassadors, Trade Commissioners, Embassies’ representatives, Foreign Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, academia, students, government departments, related agencies and industry players in the state.
An insight into the Master Plan Study was presented by Associate Professor Dr Brian Low from Monash University Malaysia, which was then followed by a dialogue session to engage with the relevant industry stakeholders as well as to gather different opinions, ideas and feedback in establishing a future action plan for the state.
Five concurrent dialogue sessions were held to cover each of the clusters. Of particular interest is the life science cluster that included pharmaceutical products; medical equipment; biotechnology and biopharma; public and private healthcare delivery; medical tourism; supporting services such as labs, diagnostics and clinical trials; and doctors, pharmacists, therapists, educators and R&D.
The feedback and recommendation from the participants were sought on the ecosystem of the cluster, SWOT analysis, and network analysis. Limited innovations in the areas of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology and activities that are not outcome driven were listed as weaknesses for Life Science cluster. The National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) were listed as a strength among others. A strong call was also made to ensure there is cross-fertilisation between the five clusters to break away from the culture of working in a silo.
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